Migrant crisis

Hungary’s PM has warned that people who cross the country’s border illegally will be arrested from next week.

Viktor Orban said migrants entering Hungary in their thousands in the past weeks had “rebelled” against his police force, and order had to be restored.

Aid workers have been telling of “abysmal” conditions for refugees at a camp on the Hungarian-Serbian border.

Video footage has emerged of people being thrown bags of food at the camp in the town of Roszke.

Hungary has struggled to cope with some 150,000 migrants that have crossed its borders so far this year, en route from Greece to countries in northern and western Europe.

There have been tensions between the authorities and migrants, at border areas and key railway stations.

Image copyrightAFPImage captionMore new arrivals are registered at the refugee camp at Roszke, on the Hungarian-Serbian borderImage copyrightAFPImage captionHungarian police bring food for the migrants at the camp

Hungary has insisted it is trying to fulfil its obligations as an EU member and register all new arrivals, but its attempts to control the flow – such as building a fence along its border with Serbia and staging border protection exercises – have proved controversial.

But, Mr Orban warned that from 15 September, tougher immigration laws would take effect and anyone crossing the border illegally could expect to be arrested.

He praised the police for doing a “remarkable” job “without force” in the face of unco-operative migrants who, he said, had “rebelled against Hungarian legal order”.

BBC correspondents and producers covering the migrant crisis on Twitter

Anna Holligan at Roszke on the Hungarian border: “Unusual scenes… #refugees crossing in front of soldiers, suspect might not be the way next week #Hungary”

Manveen Rana at Roszke: “A man held his baby out of the window shouting “oxygen, oxygen”. A guard shouted at him to get back in again”

Bethany Bell in Nickelsdorf, Austria: “Austrian army putting up tents at the border”

Wietske Burema at the Macedonia-Greek border: “Drilling a channel for a drinking water pipe for refugees at the border of Greece & Macedonia”

Elsewhere on Friday:

The Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia again rejected the European Commission’s proposed mandatory quota system, sharing out 160,000 asylum seekers a year between 23 of the EU’s 28 members. Czech Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek said countries “should keep control over the number” of refugees they could accept

432,761 people have entered Europe via Mediterranean routes, via Italy or Greece, so far this year, reports the International Organization for Migration, more than double the total for the whole of 2014

Germany has put 4,000 troops on standby to help with the unprecedented influx of refugees, Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen tells German media

There is a bottleneck of more than 10,000 people at Hungary’s border with Austria. Existing shelters in the area are full and the army is putting up more tents. Some migrants have begun walking towards Vienna

A key point of tension in Hungary has been at a refugee reception centre in Roszke, where the authorities have been taking many migrants newly arrived from Serbia.

Scenes from inside the camp were revealed in video footage filmed by Michaela Spritzendorfer, the wife of an Austrian Green party politician who was delivering aid to the camp, and Klaus Kufner, a journalist and activist.

Ms Spritzendorfer said it was about 20:00, and police were throwing plastic bags containing food to around 100 people, including the elderly and the very young.

“These people have been on a terrible tour for three months,” she told the BBC.

“Most of them have been across the sea now and on the boat and through the forest and they’ve gone through terrible things and we, as Europe, we keep them there in camps like animals.”

At the scene: Anna Holligan, BBC News, Roszke

The Hungarian refugee camps have become humiliating holding zones for the thousands trying to cross the country’s borders. Journalists are banned from entering, but images shared by human rights groups and refugees are disturbing.

The Hungarian government has not yet commented, but the images will fuel the allegations that Hungary is failing to meet the minimum standards for the treatment of migrants, as laid out in the European Convention on Human Rights.

The Council of Europe has reminded member states that people should not be treated like prisoners.

Many of the people I’ve spoken to, from Raqqa, Idlib and Homs have become numb to violence in Syria, but their treatment in what is supposed to be a place of refuge is hard to bear.

Another aid worker, Irish volunteer Patrick Quirke, told the BBC that people were being kept in cages, guard dogs were running free and “from what I was told the food is very sparse, the conditions are cold, the children were cold and they weren’t being provided with any heating”.

Human Rights Watch said migrants were being kept in “abysmal” conditions at two detention centres in Roszke, lacking food and medical care. The group quoted two migrants who described the conditions as only fit for animals.

Hungarian police have said they will investigate the scenes from inside the camp.

A note on terminology: The BBC uses the term migrant to refer to all people on the move who have yet to complete the legal process of claiming asylum. This group includes people fleeing war-torn countries such as Syria, who are likely to be granted refugee status, as well as people who are seeking jobs and better lives, who governments are likely to rule are economic migrants.

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On Friday, a new image provided the first look at Hawkgirl (Ciara Renée) and Hawkman (Falk Hentschel), who will both first appear onArrow and The Flash before moving on to the spin-off.

Hawkman, a.k.a. Carter Hall, is the latest reincarnation of an Egyptian Prince who is fated to be reborn throughout time along with his soulmate, Kendra Saunders. Like Kendra, Carter can access the powers of the Hawk God, Horus, transforming him into a winged warrior. Hawkgirl, meanwhile, is known for being one of DC Comics’ first female superheroes. On the show, Saunders will be starting to learn that she’s been reincarnated over and over again — and that wings sprout out of her back when she’s provoked. Get more scoophere and here.

HAVANA — The Cuban government said it plans to pardon 3,522 prisoners over the next 72 hours as a “humanitarian” gesture ahead of Pope Francis’s visit to the island beginning next week.But the announcement appeared to rule out pardons for at least some of the dozens of inmates that rights groups consider political prisoners. Convicts serving time for crimes against “national security” would not be eligible for release, said the statement in the Communist Party newspaper Granma.

Those receiving pardons will include inmates over age 60 or under 20 with no prior convictions and prisoners whose terms are nearing an end, as well as women, the infirm and foreigners whose countries will accept their repatriation.

The amnesty, ordered by the State Council, the Cuban government’s supreme body, will not extend to those serving time for homicide, rape, drug trafficking and other serious offenses in Cuba such as “cattle rustling,” according to Granma.

The government issued similar amnesties prior to previous papal visits. Nearly 3,000 inmates received pardons before Pope Benedict XVI’s arrival in 2012, and Pope John Paul II’s visit in 1998 prompted the release of several hundred others.

Francis will arrive in Havana on Sept. 19, and Cuban dissident groups have urged the pontiff to intervene with the Castro government to secure the release of jailed activists.

Amanda Duran, a member of the island’s illegal-but-tolerated Cuban Commission for Human Rights and Conciliation, said the group was trying to determine whether any of the 71 inmates on its list of political prisoners would be eligible for the amnesty.

The Vatican has not confirmed whether the pope will meet with Castro opponents during his four-day, three-city tour of the island before arriving Sept. 22 in the United States.

The timing of the Cuban government announcement is notable, as U.S. and Cuban diplomats commence bilateral talks Friday in Havana that mark their first formal meetings since the two nations reopened embassies.

A statement issued by the State Department said U.S. negotiators would meet with Cuban officials “to discuss next steps in the normalization process and schedule dates for future discussions on shared priorities.” The statement said the U.S. delegation did not plan to enter into “extensive discussions” in Friday’s talks.

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1.

Senate Democrats clear path for Iran deal

Senate Democrats on Thursday blocked a Republican resolution seeking to reject the Iran nuclear deal. The Democratic filibuster ensured that the landmark deal between Tehran and six world powers, including the U.S., would take effect with no need for Obama to veto a GOP vote of disapproval. House Republicans passed a bill saying Congress had more time to consider the Iran deal because the administration has not shared information on secret deals it cut with Tehran, but the White House says there are no such documents. [The New York Times, The Washington Post]

2.

Obama orders U.S. to accept 10,000 Syrian migrants in next year

President Obama has decided that the U.S. will take in at least 10,000 Syrian refugees over the coming fiscal year, the White House announced Thursday. So far, the U.S. has only accepted 1,500 Syrian migrants since the country’s civil war began in 2011. Refugee advocates and some lawmakers said Obama’s move does not go far enough to ease the humanitarian crisis as a wave of refugees flees Syria and other countries, most of them bound for Europe. Religious groups have called on Obama to accept 100,000 Syrians. [Reuters]

3.

Americans will observe the 14th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on Friday with ceremonies in New York City, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C. The White House, like many other places in the U.S., will observe a moment of silence Friday morning. On Friday night, two giant towers of light will rise in Lower Manhattan, the 13th installation of the “Tribute of Light,” an ephemeral memorial representing the Twin Towers destroyed in the 9/11 attack. [The New York Times]

4.

Joe Biden discusses his future with Stephen Colbert

Vice President Joe Biden gave an emotional interview to Stephen Colbert on Thursday night’s Late Show, saying he’s not sure he and his family arecapable of giving “110 percent” to a presidential campaign so soon after the May death of Biden’s son, Beau. “I’d be lying if I said that I knew I was there,” Biden said. The vice president added that he needed to keep moving forward because he would be letting down his son “if I didn’t just get up.” [Politico]

5.

Field set for next week’s Republican presidential debate

CNN has unveiled the lineup for the next Republican presidential debate, which the network will host next Wednesday night at the Reagan Library. The 11 candidates who made the cut, based on 14 recent polls, are Donald Trump; Ben Carson; former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush; Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas); Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker; Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.); former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee; Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.); Gov. John Kasich (Ohio); Gov. Chris Christie (N.J.); and former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, who made a strong showing in a second-tier debate after failing to make the first main debate. [CNN]

6.

Flight 93 memorial dedicated

The Flight 93 National Memorial Visitor Center was dedicated Thursday on a Pennsylvania hill overlooking the site where the United Airlines jet crashed, killing 33 passengers and seven crew members during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Passengers on Flight 93 found out about the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, and rushed the cockpit. The terrorists crashed into a field instead of Washington, D.C. U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said the memorial center captures “the real honor of the 40 and what they did.” [USA Today, The Associated Press]

7.

GOP lawmaker in Michigan resigns after affair with colleague

One of two socially conservative Michigan lawmakers tainted by an extramarital affair and cover-up attempt resigned early Friday as his colleagues debated whether the pair should stay in their jobs. Republican Rep. Todd Courser resigned, effective immediately. He has admitted sending an outlandish phony email to GOP activists claiming he had been caught with a male prostitute — a ruse meant to make news of his affair with Rep. Cindy Gamrat seem less believable. Lawmakers later voted to expel Gamrat. [The Associated Press, CBS News]

8.

Opposition tries to chip away at Singapore’s ruling party’s dominance

Singapore voters went to the polls Friday in the island nation’s most hotly contested general election ever. The long-ruling People’s Action Party’s is expected to win, but opposition parties are contesting all 89 seats in parliament for the first time since independence in 1965. Singapore’s status as an international financial hub have made it rich, but opposition politicians are hoping to take advantage of complaints over high property prices and a widening wealth gap. [Reuters]

9.

Venezuelan opposition leader sentenced to prison

A Venezuelan judge on Thursday sentenced opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez to 13 years and nine months in a military prison for “inciting violence” and other charges. The harsh sentence was likely to worsen tensions in the already deeply divided South American nation. The government of President Nicolas Maduro has said it wants to improve relations with the U.S., but the treatment of Lopez is considered likely to be an obstacle to any diplomatic overtures. The U.S. said it was “deeply troubled” by the sentence. [The Washington Post, Reuters]

10.

Officers’ trial over Freddie Gray’s death stays in Baltimore

A judge ruled Thursday that the trials of six police officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray would remain in Baltimore, despite extensive local publicity and heated emotions over the case. Defense lawyers had argued that the intense scrutiny the case had received would make it impossible for the officers to get a fair trial, but Circuit Court Judge Barry Williams disagreed. “The citizens of Baltimore are not monolithic,” he said. “They think for themselves.”

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New York (CNN Money) — It’s no secret that China is the largest holder of U.S. debt.

So should Americans be concerned that China has started dumping some of its Treasury holdings?

After all, it raises serious questions about whether China will keep lending Washington money to help finance the federal deficit in the future.

But right now, China is selling because it’s in dire need of cash. Recently, it unleashed multiple moves to support its markets and prevent its currency from a freefall, while at the same time trying to stimulate the economy.

China yanks record sum from war chest

China owned $1.3 trillion of U.S. Treasuries as of June, making it the biggest holder of U.S. debt.

But China’s foreign-exchange reserves plunged by a record $94 billion in August, according to the country’s central bank, leaving it with a war chest of $3.6 trillion. Analysts say it’s very safe to believe a big chunk of that decline occurred due to a reduction in U.S. Treasury holdings.

The selling and the potential that China will not be buying U.S. debt in the near future raises questions on its potential to increase America’s borrowing costs.

Some of this might already be happening, at least at a small scale. When stock markets are turbulent, investors usually rush to the safety of U.S. Treasurys and yields fall. However, despite August’s extreme stock volatility, rates on Treasurys actually rose slightly in late August.

Part of that move is likely due to Wall Street betting the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates next week. But market participants also suspect the unusual action in the bond market was driven by China dumping Treasuries.

China is raising lots of cash

This time, Beijing is cutting its Treasury holdings out of a weakened position as it tries to stave off more declines in its currency. China is also propping up its stock market, which lost half its value in the span of just a few months this summer.

“Capital outflows have skyrocketed in China and the yuan is under intense selling pressure. The only thing they could do is sell Treasuries to buy their own currency,” said Walter Zimmerman, chief technical analyst at United-ICAP.

China isn’t trying to sink the U.S. economy

There have long been concerns that China could sink the American economy by unloading its gigantic holdings of Treasuries, sending borrowing costs skyrocketing.

Thankfully, those doomsday fears don’t appear to be at play here yet.

“If China’s U.S. Treasury stock is a nuclear bomb, moderate sales to offset selling pressure on the yuan are unlikely to set off an explosion,” Michael McDonough, chief economist at Bloomberg Intelligence, wrote in a recent report.

But moves could raise borrowing costs here

Still, China’s sales could make Treasury yields higher than they would normally be. That’s of concern because Treasury rates are used as a benchmark that set the cost of borrowing for items like credit cards and mortgages.

While it’s “not the end of the world,” SkyBridge Capital senior portfolio manager Troy Gayeski said higher yields could lead to a “slowdown in the housing recovery.”

What’s key is how much cash China ultimately needs to raise to defend its currency and stock market. No one, not even China, knows that figure.

China may go on a U.S. debt diet

So far, the American bond market seems to be taking the China move in stride.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note is currently sitting at 2.22%, about unchanged from a month ago.

Demand for U.S. debt is healthy now especially when compared to the ultra-low, or even negative rates in other economic powerhouses like Germany and Japan.

Policymakers in Washington should hope that trend continues. Now that China’s economy is in disarray, America might not be able to count on its No. 1 lender to gobble up U.S. debt like in the past.

“China’s surplus is slowing. That gives them less firepower to accumulate Treasuries,” said Thomas Urano, managing director at Sage Advisory.

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Apple’s Siri interrupts a question about the intricacies of Barack Obama’s Iran policy on Thursday during a White House press briefing. The iPhone’s personal assistant beeped its question-acknowledgement tone as a journalist asked White House spokesman Josh Earnest if Obama is disappointed at not getting Republican backing for the Iran nuclear agreement. Siri then buts in, saying ‘Sorry. I’m not sure what you want me to change’

Story highlights

Thursday marked the close of the two-month window for determining eligibility based on averages of national polls

11 candidates will appear in the 8 p.m. debate, and five candidates will appear at the 6 p.m. event

Washington (CNN)The stage is set for the CNN Reagan Library Debate next week in California, with Carly Fiorina joining 10 other leading Republican presidential candidates at 8 p.m. ET.

Thursday marked the close of the two-month window for determining eligibility based on averages of national polls. The results were based on 14 polls including interviews with more than 6,000 potential Republican primary voters. The top 10 candidates overall — plus Fiorina, whose average support places her within the top 10 in polls conducted after the first debate held August 6 — have all qualified for the 8:00 p.m. debate next Wednesday in Simi Valley. The remaining five candidates will appear during an earlier debate beginning at 6:00 p.m.

The overall rankings based on an average of all qualifying polls for the 16 candidates who met the requirements for participation are:

1) Donald Trump: 23.929

2) Jeb Bush: 11.500

3) Scott Walker: 9.429

4) Ben Carson: 8.929

5) Ted Cruz: 6.286

6) Marco Rubio: 5.643

7) Mike Huckabee: 5.571

8) Rand Paul: 4.714

9) John Kasich: 3.214

10) Chris Christie: 3.143

11) Carly Fiorina: 2.229

12) Rick Perry: 1.814

13) Rick Santorum: 1.214

14) Bobby Jindal: 1.057

15) George Pataki: 0.529

16) Lindsey Graham: 0.471

The rules for inclusion were amended late last month so that any candidate who made the top 10 in an average of polls conducted after the Fox News/Facebook debate held on August 6 would also be included in the later debate. Fiorina is the only candidate to move from the bottom six to the top 10 in that post-debate average. Here are the averages for qualifying polls conducted after the August 6 debate and released by September 10:

1) Donald Trump: 27.8

2) Ben Carson: 14.0

3) Jeb Bush: 9.2

4) Ted Cruz: 7.4

5) Scott Walker: 5.6

6) Marco Rubio: 5.4

T-7) Carly Fiorina: 4.4

T-7) Mike Huckabee: 4.4

9) Rand Paul: 3.2

10) John Kasich: 3.6

11) Chris Christie: 2.8

12) Rick Perry: 1.08

13) Rick Santorum: 0.8

14) Bobby Jindal: 0.56

15) George Pataki: 0.44

16) Lindsey Graham: 0.28

Former Virginia governor Jim Gilmore, who participated in the August 6 debate, did not meet the criteria for inclusion in next Wednesday’s debate. Candidates were required to average 1% support in any three polls released during the two-month window. Out of the 14 polls released during that time, Gilmore had 1% support in only one poll.

he post-debate polls were also used to determine the order that the candidates would appear on stage. Trump will anchor the center of the stage for the 8:00 p.m. debate, flanked by Carson to his right and Bush to his left. Walker, Fiorina, Kasich and Christie, in that order, will stand to Bush’s left, while Cruz, Rubio, Huckabee and Paul will appear to Carson’s right.

In the earlier debate, Perry will stand center stage, with Jindal and Graham to his left and Santorum and Pataki to his right.

The overall average includes results from a Fox News poll released July 17; a Washington Post/ABC News poll released July 20; a CNN/ORC poll released July 26; a Quinnipiac University poll released July 30; a NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released August 2; a Monmouth University poll released August 3; a Fox News poll released August 3; a Bloomberg Politics poll released August 4; a CBS News poll released August 4; a Fox News poll released August 16; a CNN/ORC poll released August 18; a Quinnipiac University poll released August 27; a Monmouth University poll released September 3; and a CNN/ORC poll released September 10.

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Brian Williams, the beleaguered former anchor of NBC’s “Nightly News,” will start in his new position at the cable news network MSNBC on Sept. 22, an NBC News spokesman said Thursday.
Exact details about what Williams would be doing once he returns were not disclosed.
In February, NBC suspended Williams for six months without pay. The move came after the former anchor of NBC’s evening newscast was found to have fabricated his experience in a helicopter attack in Iraq.
In his new role, Williams will work as an anchor of breaking news and special reports at MSNBC. The position, which is a demotion and carries a salary cut, is a humbling blow for Williams. Before the controversy, he was one of the country’s most prominent and respected broadcast news journalists.
Williams was an MSNBC anchor from 1996 to 2004. The network, which has suffered sharp ratings declines, is trying to revive its fortunes by shifting from its left-leaning, opinion-based coverage to more hard news during the day.